I was talking to a couple friends last night and one of them brought up some religious topics. He made an argument that religion was relative and anyone could be the answer or have the answer. It was all just whatever people decided to follow. I didn't really argue with him but I did say that if you make that argument you'd have some pretty tough questions to answer but that no matter what argument you make there are tough questions to answer. It was my nice way of saying I didn't agree with him but that I don't have some kind of "knowledge" that is better than everyone else. What did get me thinking, however, was how he reached his conclusion.
He said that he saw a magnet on a refrigerator that said something about how life isn't about who you are but it's about who you choose to be. He also read a fictional book about a mechanic in North Carolina who was the messiah but decided he didn't want to be and went up on a mountain and told God that he quit. He then chose to become a pilot and lived a happy life - like the refrigerator magnet, choosing who you want to be instead of just being the person he was born. This was apparently enough to convince him that anyone can be the "messiah" and he is confident enough about it to tell people that there is no messiah because anyone could be it.
I had a thought though that what he just did was create a mini religion. He read a book, believed the message that there is no true religion and was telling people that the absence of religion is what is true. I'm pretty sure that's what the majority of religions do. Most have a book, a message and try to recruit followers. I don't think that's a bad thing because I don't think truth is relative. If there is truth out there why would it be bad to search for it? I just think that if you are going to tell people, in a definitive way like my friend did, that things are a certain way you should probably have more than a refrigerator magnet and a fictional book. My friend happens to be a really nice guy and I think people would listen to him but I think the only reason anyone would listen to him is because he's a nice guy and it's easy to say "truth doesn't exist" and go on and live however you choose. But if what he's doing is spreading a mini religion, why aren't people offended? It's a little offensive to tell a group of people the Jesus is the only way to heaven or that not breaking Islamic law will get you there. So why is it in American culture that someone can get inspiration from a refrigerator magnet, tell people religions aren't true and it not be offensive but if you get inspiration from the Bible or the Quran all of a sudden you're religious and shouldn't be forcing it on anyone. Isn't that what everyone does who claims to have knowledge? So what is religion, if that's not?
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